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Complitncnts of 

H. A. GILDERSLEEVE. 



ORATION 



HENRY A. GILDERSLEEVE, 



DKI.IVERKD ON THE 



BATTLEFIELD OF QETTYSBURQ, 

SEPTEMBER 17th, 1889. 



ORATION 



HENRY A. GILDERSLEEVE, 



HI' i,i\i-,ui:i) ON iHK 



IBAT'^l^LKKIELl) OK GETXYS3URQ, 



September 17th, 1889, 



O/i tlic occasio)! of the daUcatio)! of tlic ATouumciii erected to the 

memory of the soldiers of " 7'he DuteJtess County J\ei:^imc/!t'''' 

{ijOth Ne7C' York Voluiitcer Infantry^ ic'ho 7C'ere 

killed i/i the Battle of Cjettysbi/rg. 






61503 ; 



05 <[ 



DOUGLAS TAYLOR, 

PRINTER, 

89 NASSAU ST., N. Y. 



Comrades and Frifnds : 

Battlefields are epochal steps in the grand stairways of the Earth 
constructed of the lives of men. Steps by which altar and throne 
have often been established and overturned. Steps that have led to 
the destruction of existing governments aiul the birth of new. 

A careful study of the history of the world, shows that war has 
been the only final arbiter of nations ; and mankind, even under 
the benign intluences of Christianity, in an enlightened age, have 
not found a substitute for this terrible tribunal. Our fathers, 
renowned for w.isdom no less than courage, did not stop to estimate 
the ])rice of human life, when they began the great structure of our 
national existence, and, laid in blood, the sure foundations of liberty 
and justice on which it re.sts. We should have proved degenerate 
and unworthy sons had we failed to follow their noble example when 
secession lifted its heretical head, and threatened the destruction of 
our National Government. The Constitution of the United States 
of America was ordained and established " in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide 
for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure 
the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." 

Under it the States and Nation had prospered and grown strong 
as few people have ever prospered. It provided a system which 
continually drew for its sustenance and growth upon the virtue and 
vigor of the people — an inexhaustible source where a people remain 
harmonious and united, but a barren desert in a nation composed of 
States, "dissevered, discordant and belligerent." Secession, if 
acquiesced in, made our Union, after all it had cost in blood and 
treasure, a weak pile of blocks that could at any time be toppled 
over at the will of a single State. All that was won upon the battle- 
fields of the Revolution was at stake upon the issue of the Civil 
War ; and in addition thereto, the emancipation of a race. Famous 



among men will always be the founders of our Government, and, 
second to them in lustre, shine the bravery and fortitude of the 
men who secured the permanence of their noble work. 

We stand to-day on ground made famous by the defenders of the 
Union. Here was fought, more than a quarter of a century ago, the 
most important battle of our great Civil War, While from other 
fields may be gathered as appalling records of slaughter by contend- 
ing armies, Gettysburg was the most decisive in its results, and in 
history it will be the most conspicuous. On the escutcheon of 
nations, written with the blood of heroes, France has its Austerlitz, 
England its Waterloo and the United States its Gettysburg. 

The 150th Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, were of the 
troops who fought and won that battle for the United States. It 
was a victory that insured the perpetuity of the Federal Union ; 
made permanent the establishment of Republican government among 
the nations of the earth ; cast off the fetters from three million 
bondmen, and abolished slavery in America forever. It has been 
customary throughout all time to fete and honor soldiers of every 
country. The return of victorious armies to Rome was the occasion 
of grand displays and the most sumptuous festivities. The earth's 
surface is dotted all over with monuments erected to the memory of 
distinguishetl soldiers killed in battle, and few indeed are the excep- 
tions when bravery in war has not been recognized and some effort 
made to pay a suitable tribute to those who have had to fight the 
battles of their country. In ancient Egypt the soldier shared with 
the priest the highest consideration. When he fell in battle he was 
at once transported to the regions of ineffable bliss in the bright 
mansions of the sun. The Christian Crusader was not only raised 
to a contempt of danger, but coveted it for the imperishable crown 
of martyrdom that he was taught to believe awaited him after death. 
The victories and battles of the Revolution that made our republi- 
can form of government possible, we never lose an opportunity to 
celebrate, and the noble deeds of the heroes of that memorable war 



are our choicest heritage, and the subject of constant comniemora- 
tion. U"hc men who fell upon this field are entitled to no less *j;rate- 
ful remembrance than those who fell at Ikinker Hill and Valley 
Forge. We cannot claim originality for the ceremony we now cele- 
brate, but when we look about us and are reminded of the brave 
men who here gave up their lives, and recall the causes that made 
the terrible battle necessary, we do proudly claim that for no nobler 
cause did patriots ever fight, that for no grantler country diil heroes 
ever die. Yes, and thank (lod, they died for the whole country, 
to-day the home of sixty million freemen. The triumph of the 
Union armies on this field was a victory for the Constitution and the 
Union, and took no rights away from the South. The blessings 
flowing from a preserved Union reach all the States, and the 
fountains it feeds are those of universal liberty and prosperity, at 
which the Confederate soldier is as welcome to come and drink as 
the Union Volunteer. 

The State of New York, by its representatives in legislature 
assembled, in the year 1S87, appropriated the sum of |!i,5oo to each 
New York regiment that took part in the battle of Gettysburg, to be 
expended in providing a suitable memorial to its members who fell 
in that battle. The survivors of the T5oth Regiment and its friends, 
princii)ally residents of Dutchess County, contributed and added to 
the ^1,500 given by the State, about the sum of $3,000, and the 
manner in which that money has been expended by the faithful and 
able Monument Committee, of which Cen. Smith is Chairman, is 
evidenced by the beautiful monument before us which we have 
assembled today to unveil and dedicate. 

Let us for a few moments brush up our memories of the past; 
recall the organization of the 150th Regiment, and follow it to these 
now historic hills of Pennsylvania, where it became a part of the 
famous army of the Potomac, and was first bathed in blood. 

At the end of June, [862, the war had been in progress about 
fifteen months, and over eight hundred thousand volunteers, includ- 



ing three-months men, had entered the military service of the 
United States. The actual strength of the Federal army on duty at 
this time was about five hundred thousand. In the West the Union 
forces under Grant, Buell and others had secured very creditable 
results. Shiloh, Fort Donelson, Pittsburgh Landing, Corinth and 
other points of strategic importance had been captured by the 
Union armies. The general result of the campaign in Virginia was 
not considered to reflect much credit upon the Union army, and in 
consequence thereof there was a widesi)reeid feeling of dissatisfac- 
tion in the North. Lukewarm Unionists and Southern sympathizers 
began openly to proclaim their faith in and announce their adher- 
ence to the Southern cause. This unarmed enemy in the midst of 
us, too cowardly to fight in the open field, and without an excuse 
for their treachery, retarded enlistments at home, encouraged foreign 
intervention, and in every way possible gave aid and support to the 
rebels. I can forgive the Southern rebel for taking up arms against 
the Union, grasp him warmly by the hand and call him brother; but 
a Northern copper-head— well, God may have mercy upon him, but 
I cannot. 

On Thursday, June 26th, 1S62, the powerful and thoroughly 
equii^ped Army of the Potomac was entrenched in works vast in 
extent and most formidable in character within sight of Richmond, 
and it was confidently hoped that the battle-cry of " On to Rich- 
mond " would soon be realized. Within a few days the remnants of 
that threatening host were upon the James River, thirty miles from 
Richmond, seeking to recover, under the protection of their gun- 
boats, from the effects of a series of disastrous defeats. This routing 
of McClellan's army thoroughly aroused the Government to the 
danger in which the country was placed, and an earnest determina- 
tion was manifested to provide against its consequences. On July 
2d, 1862, the President of the United States issued a proclamation 
calling for three hundred thousand men to serve for three years, or 
during the war. In answer to this call the Dutchess County 



regiment was organized. Tlie prompt response of the State of New 
York, led by the loyal citizens of Dutchess County, to this proclama- 
tion of the President in those dark days of the rebellion, gave an 
impetus to enlistments throughout the whole loyal North, and under 
the call 431,95s volunteers were mustered into the Federal army. 
This rush to the standards of the Union was the strongest evidence 
of the willingness of the Northern people to stand by the Government. 
It was conclusive proof of their unflinching loyalty and it showed a 
fixed determination to suppress the rebellion by force of arms. It 
not only gave great additional strength, but a morale to the armies 
already in the field, and to the men in high station upon whom 
rested the grave responsibility of conducting the war, the greatest 
encouragement. Prior to this, large numbers of Dutchess County 
men had enlisted in the Union armies. Some marched to the front 
with the 20th New'York, and others followed the colors of the i2Sth. 
On Thursday, the 21st day of August, 1862, Mrs. Benson J. Tossing 
caused to be published an appeal asking for a Dutchess County 
regiment. Isaac Piatt, of the Poughkeepsie Eagle, endorsed the 
appeal by favorable comment, and during that day and the next 
eighteen young men handed to A. B. Smith of Poughkeepsie, as one 
of the resident members of the (Icneral War Committee, requests to 
recruit and enter the United States service in a Dutchess County 
regiment. We have not a complete list of the names of these young 
men. Among them were Cogswell, McConnell, Gildersleeve, 'Pitus, 
Woodin, Weekes, Sweet, Gridley, Broas, Cruger, Underwood, Van 
Steemburg, Van Keuren and 'Pripp. General A. B. Smith drafted 
a resolution for the Board of Supervisors of Dutchess County 
and it was offered by Henry W. Shaw (better known as Josh Billings), 
who was at that time a member of the Board, and passed unani- 
mously. It read as follows : " Resolved, That the County of Dutch- 
ess will pay -^50 bounty to each man who will enlist in a Dutch- 
ess County regiment and the Executive War Committee of the 
County is reciuested to pr(jcure the permission from Governor Alor 



gan to raise such regiment, with camp located at Poughkeepsie." 
Provided with a certified copy of this resohition, and letters of intro- 
duction from Congressman Baker and Judge Emott, Gen. Smith, 
under instructions from the War Committee, went to Albany on 
August 23d to make application to Governor Morgan for authority 
to recruit "a Dutchess County Regiment," and returned with the 
following authorization, viz. : 

" To Hon. James Emott, 

C/iainiia>i of Executive IFar Committee 

of Dutchess County : 

Permission is granted to your War Committee to raise a Dutchess 
County Regiment, with camp located at Poughkeepsie. 

Edwin D. Morgan, 

Governor. 

HiLLHOUSE 

A. A. G." 

Previous to this Gov. Morgan had appointed a General VV^ar 
Committee for the Congressional District, with Wm. Kelly of Rhine- 
beck as Chairman. From this General Committee an Executive 
War Committee was chosen, consisting of James Emott, Wm. Kelly, 
Ambrose Wager, George W. Sterling, Benson J. Lossing, James H. 
Weeks, Stephen Baker, Joseph F. Barnard and John H. Ketcham, 
and the work of bringing into life, form and discipline the Dutchess 
County Regiment was entered upon in earnest. It was then that the 
home pride was fully aroused and the patriotism of the citizens of 
Dutchess County reached its climax. Many, who from the first 
breaking out of the war had felt inclined to enlist, but were 
restrained by business engagements they could not well forego, or 
by home ties that were painful to sever, had frequently declared that 
when a Dutchess County regiment was organized they would join 



it. That day had come, and the sons of Old Dutchess, true to their 
vows, led on by Ketcham, rallied around the American flag, eager 
to become members of the 150th New York Volunteers. O, the 
golden memories of those days ! The conflicts between love of 
country and love of kindred : private business interests and public 
duty, duty in which patriotism triumphed. Sad and distressing were 
the partings, but comrades, your courage did not fail you in the hour of 
your country's peril. Resolute and brave, though tender and loving, 
the good-byes were said with moist eyes and aching hearts. What 
act of your life would you not now sacrifice to give place to this? 
Those were indeed busy, anxious, exciting days. Do you recall the 
duties of the recruiting officers ? How the constant explanations 
necessary to j^oung men contemplating enlistment occupied the days 
at the several recruiting offices, and war meetings in different parts 
of the county filled in the nights. Our headquarters were at Pough- 
keepsie. Four and six horse teams carrying young and enthusiastic 
men who had already enlisted drove to different parts of the county, 
with banners flying and bands playing, to attend war meetings and 
secure enlistments. 'I'here was scarcely a place in the county, suffi- 
ciently large to support a post office, that did not have its one or 
more war meetings each week. Washington Hollow, Stamfordville, 
Bangall, Pine Plains, Dover, Pawling, Amenia, Hyde Park, Rhine- 
beck, Red Hook, Schultzville and many other places were the scenes 
of enthusiastic gatherings at which the bands played patriotic airs, 
and from barrels, stoops, wagons and horse blocks the assembled 
crowds were harangued with war speeches until the excitement ran 
high and many names were added to the enlistment rolls. From the 
sheriff's office in the court house in the City of Poughkeepsie, which 
was turned into a recruiting office, was displayed a banner bearing 
these words : "Come in out of the draft." Their significance was 
apparent and caused no little amusing comment. To the indifferent 
they were a gentle reminder of what might be expected if a suffi- 
cient number of volunteers were not promptly forthcoming ; and to 



lO 



those anxious to enlist, who were restrained by relatives and friends, 
they furnished a powerful argument in favor of consent. The 
threatened drafts and liberal bounties undoubtedly brought some 
men into the service, but pure patriotism was generally the sole 
moving power. And especially was this true of the 150th Regiment, 
composed as it largely was of intelligent and thoughtful men. They 
hastened to the defense of their country with a spontaneous impulse, 
born of a correct knowledge of the true nature of the cause for 
which they were to suffer fatigue, exposure, hunger, thirst and the 
perils of battle ; believing that their country's cause was their per- 
sonal cause, and that the success of the Union arms was a victory for 
their individual principles. 

The Union volunteers were not mere machines, enrolled, dis- 
ciplined and ranged in living palisades before the enemy, but they 
were men with ideas, who could, when occasion required, think and 
act for themselves. • 

The work of recruiting went briskly on. As soon as eighty were 
enrolled by any one recruiting officer he went to Albany and received 
his commission as captain, and also commissions for a first and 
second lieutenant. The captains took rank according to the date of 
their commissions, and the companies received their alphabetical 
designation, commencing with " A," in the order in which their 
respective captains were commissioned. On the nth day of 
October, 1862, at Camp Dutchess, just outside of the City of 
Poughkeepsie, the regiment was mustered into the service of the 
United States. It was then we felt that we were real soldiers, and for 
the first time fully realized the importance of the step we had taken, 
and imperfectly outlined in our imaginations the life that was before 
us. 

On October 13th we arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, where we 
remained on guard duty until the following June, with excellent 
opportunities for drill and instruction in the duties of a soldier. 
Once during this period, on the 9th of December, we were ordered 



1 1 



out to check an expected rebel raid, and proceeded by cars to 
Adams Town near Monocacy Junction. We were i:ot permitted the 
satisfaction of meeting the enemy and returned to Baltimore with 
virgin swords. The only blood shed on that cold campaign, for the 
thermometer was at about zero, was from two opossums captured by 
some men on picket duty. 

The battle of Chancellorsville had been fought and lost. Ewell 
had taken up his march down the Shenandoah Valley ; Milroy had 
been defeated at Winchester, and the triumphant rebel army, led by 
General Robert E. Lee, the foremost military officer of the Confed- 
eracy, was marching into the State of Pennsylvania, when on the 
25th day of June, the Dutchess County regiment moved with the 
first Maryland Potomac Home Brigade, General Lockwood in 
command, to join the Army of the Potomac. We had become 
tired of garrison life in Baltimore and hailed, with delight, 
the orders that sent us to the field. Thoroughly drilled and dis- 
ciplined, the 150th with full ranks, in bright uniforms, with unsoiled 
colors and to the strains of martial music moved out of Camp 
Belger and turned their faces toward the enemy. For two days our 
line of march could be easily followed by the surplus clothing, camp 
and garrison equipage dropped by the way and abandoned. The 
most intense excitement and alarm prevailed throughout the North, 
antl the authorities at Washington were filled with fear and conster- 
nation. It seems a question of a few days only when the rebel host 
would be sacking the cities of the North ; levying contributions 
upon its citizens and demanding entrance to the capital of the 
Nation. All the horrors of civil war were at the doors of the men 
who were defending the Union. The timid were disheartened and 
discouraged, but the strong, with full reliance upon the justice of 
our cause and the valor of our soldiers, nerved themselves for the 
impending struggle, determined to beat back the invaders. The 
fate of the Nation rested with the Army of the Potomac, then under 
the command of a noble son of Pennsylvania, General George B. 



12 



Meade. Our regiment reached Monocacy Bridge, near Frederick 
City, on June 28th, and with Lockwood's Brigade was attached to 
the first division of the 12th corps, which division at that time was 
commanded by General Alpheus S. Williams, the corps being com- 
manded by a distinguished soldier from our own State, General 
Henry W. Slocum. Do you remember our camp on the hill near 
Monocacy Bridge, from which point we first saw a portion of that 
great Army of the Potomac of which we had read so much ? For 
the first time we saw them bivouac, and listened to the music from 
their brigade bands as it pealed forth upon the air on that still and 
solemn night. What a spectacle for a recruit to look upon ! We 
were amazed at the length of the wagon trains and batteries of 
artillery as they filed into the valley below us and went into park 
for the night. Thousands of camp fires lighted up the region 
around, and we stood spellbound at the sight of the vast enginery 
of war that was before us. It was in this camp, inspired by this 
spectacle, we first imbibed the true spirit of war, and nerved our- 
selves for the trying scenes and desperate deeds we knew we must 
encounter. 

Our cavalry under General Buford had occupied the vicinity of 
Gettysburg, and the ist and nth corps were thrown forward to 
join the cavalry. The situation indicated to General Meade that it 
was in the vicinity of Gettysburg that the Confederate commander 
had decided to concentrate his forces. The first divisions passed 
through Gettysburg to Willoughby Run, just beyond Seminary 
Ridge, where they came up with Buford's cavalry and found them 
hotly engaged with the advance forces of the rebel column. Here 
a sanguinary conflict ensued in which the ist corps and a part of 
the nth, together with Buford's cavalry, participated. It lasted 
from 9 o'clock in the morning until late in the afternoon. General 
John F. Reynolds, the brave and able conmiander of the ist corps, 
was killed in this fight. The first noise of real battle that came to 
our ears was the boom of the distant cannon as we pressed on to- 



13 

ward the battlefield. We did not get in sight of the contending 
forces that day. doing into camp at a late hour we, for the first 
time, slept on our arms. It was not daylight when we were in line 
again and ready to resume the march. Do you remember the 
voice of Col. Maltby, who commanded the ist Maryland regiment 
that had gone into camp adjoining us, as on that morning he 
told his men of the perils that were before them, and in patriotic 
words encouraged them to bravely do their duty. We had no 
speech from our regimental commander. It was not his custom to 
harangue us with loud-sounding phrases, but he passed quietly down 
the line and whispered in our ears valuable instruction and sound 
advice. We moved on in the direction from whence we had heard 
cannonading on the day previous, and the first unmistakable indica- 
tions we discovered of a battle were the slightly wounded who were 
able to get back to the hospitals without assistance. Then we began 
to encounter ambulances loaded with those who had been seriously 
wounded. Field hospitals were passed; we could hear the rattle of 
musketry and see the smoke of the conflict near at hand, and we 
soon found ourselves a part and parcel of the grand Army of the 
North, fighting, among these hills, the battle of Gettysburg. The 
first missiles of war we saw were shells from some rebel batteries 
passing over our heads entirely too close to be comfortable, and 
bursting just beyond our line. AV'e were resting on our arms when 
we first heard the shriek of these flying projectiles, to us a new, 
ominous and peculiar sound. We turned our heads one side, with 
eyes upward, trying to see them as they passed, much as a flock of 
turkeys will do to catch sight of a hawk. The novelty soon wore 
off, but we never forgot the identity of the sound, and ever after it 
was readily distinguished. 

On the afternoon of that day, July 2d, we were hurriedly moved 
to the left to reinforce the gallant soldier, (len. Sickles. As we 
passed a farmhouse on our line of march we were told that he was 
inside just undergoing the operation of having his leg amputated. 



By this time the killed and wounded were around us on every side. 
The rapidity of our movement clearly indicated that a sudden 
emergency had called us to that particular portion of the field, and 
the scene before us presented all the evidences of disaster to the 
Federal line of battle. With our full ranks, bright colors and clean 
uniforms, we were readily distinguished from the veteran regiments 
of the Army of the Potomac who had shared its fate in manoeuvres 
and battles from the time of the fight at Bull Run to that day. All 
seemed to know who we were. Can you ever forget the almost 
fiendish shouts of maimed and dying men who had just fallen in 
the struggle, as they cried out: " Go in Dutchess County! Give it 
to them, boys! Give it to them ! " 

Marching in column, four abreast, we soon swung by the right 
into line, and, for the first time, were in line of battle, facing the 
enemy. The fight at this point had been so severe and deadly that 
but few troops remained on either side. The lines were broken and 
scattered. Such rebel forces as were at this point must have fallen 
back on the approach of reinforcements, for we did not come up 
with them. We captured two cannon, but were not called upon to 
fire a gun. The artillery fire, however, was constant and terrific. 
After dark this night we were marched from that portion of the 
field, and you remember how difficult it was to escape treading on 
the dead and dying. The cries of the wounded for water, which we 
could rarely give, constantly fell upon our ears. We heard no com- 
plaints, however, and each dying soldier accepted his dreadful fate 
without a murmur. No sadder spectacle was witnessed than that 
of a beautiful horse, hobbling about on three legs, having had one 
leg severed from his body by a cannon ball. The service he ren- 
dered will never be known. Of the thousands of dumb brutes that 
toiled, suffered and died in the war, but one is immortalized, and 
he is the horse that won the day by carrying Sheridan from Win- 
chester to the battle field. 

The following day, July 3d, we had our full part of the fighting. 



15 

We were called upon to repel the furious attack of Gen. Evvell, which 
we successfully accomplished here on Gulp's Hill. From this point 
we were ordered to Ceinetery Hill to reinforce the lines upon 
which the rebel (jeneral Pickett made one of the most desperate 
and famous assaults of the war. While marching rapidly toward 
the Hill, we noticed a lull in the rattle of musketry — a softening of 
the din of battle, and then, througli the smoke and above the noise 
of the conflict, came a volume of cheers from the Union troops that 
proved to be the glad cry of victory for the North. We received 
orders to halt, and in a few minutes, long columns of Gonfederate 
prisoners were seen coming over the Hill. 

Our regiment captured that day about two hundred prisoners. 
Many members of the regiment fired more than two hundred rounds 
of ammunition each. Our colors were riddled with bullets, and we 
lost forty-eight men in killed and wounded. Their names are upon 
the monument. 

I shall not undertake to describe the details of the battle nor 
can I even refer to many instances of our own experience. We 
witnessed all the horrors of war and found the realization more ter- 
rible than the antici[)ation. Before the sun went down that day tiie 
great battle was ended. Every attack had been repulsed. The in- 
vasion of the North had failed and the tide of success for the Union 
arms had set in, never again to be checked. The victory of Gettys- 
burg was a glorious gift to the nation on the anniversary of Ameri- 
can Independence, 1863. It was a dear victory, but it was worth 
the price. The aggregate loss in killed, wounded and missing in 
this battle was nearly fifty thousand officers and men, almost one- 
thirtl of the total strength of both armies, intlicating most fearful 
slaughter in all parts of the field. It is said that some of the first 
corps men, when they entered the field on the first day of the battle, 
cried out to their comrades : "■ ^\'e have come to stay." Alas, how 
true the declaration the graves of thousands here testify. 

We cannot stop to review the subsequent marches, battles and en- 



i6 



campnients of tbe Dutchess County Regiment. There was never a 
blemish on its record; it did its whole duty and was never in a losing 
fight. Nearly all of its members were from Dutchess County, and it 
was composed of many who were relatives, friends and acquaintances. 
It was probably nearer an harmonious family in its compositif-n and 
feeling than any regiment in the service. There were no jealousies, 
no selfish rivalries. Col. Ketcham's coolness in times of danger and 
thorough knowledge of his duty, saved the regiment many lives. 
His energy, perseverance and tact secured for his men at all times 
their full share of supplies. If there were only enough shoes for a 
portion of the command to which we were attached, the 150th was 
not the organization to go barefooted; if rations were to be had Col. 
Ketcham secured them for the Dutchess County Regiment. After 
the capture of Atlanta, in the autumn of 1864, Col. Ketcham was 
granted leave of absence and was enabled to take part in the great 
political conflict that was then raging at the North. He was elected 
to Congress and rejoined us in front of Savannah, the objective 
point of Sherman's famous march to the sea, before its surrender. 
Here he received serious wounds that prevented him from doing 
further military duty. Col. Ketcham always had the entire con- 
fidence of his command and was loved by every soldier in the regi- 
ment. His parting with the regiment was a scene never to be for- 
gotten. In his address at this time among other things he said: " I 
should like very much to march with you through South Carolina, 
which, as it has been the birthplace of treason, seems now most fitly 
about to become its grave. The thought of separation from you 
and of leaving the service of my country while she has need of 
a defender, fills me with sadness. If I should not return, if to day 
shall sever my relations with you in a military capacity, be assured 
that day will never come which will sever the ties of friendship and 
affection which bind me to you." Col. Ketcham has faithfully kept 
his word. He has been a member of Congress ever since his first 
election, with the exception of one term, and no matter how hard 



17 

pressed for time by public or private duties, no member of the 150th 
was ever refused an audience by him, and not one ever wrote him a 
letter and failed to receive a prompt and kind reply. As our com- 
mander he won our highest respect and warmest love. We greet 
him on this memorial day with a renewal of our affection and 
esteem, and pray that he may live to enjoy many more years of health, 
prosperity and hapj)iness. I might stop to recount incidents of per- 
sonal heroism antl bestow praise upon individuals who seemed espe- 
cially deserving, but where all were so faithful to duty it would be 
difficult to tlistinguish. One incident, however, is so conspicuous 
for heroism and C'hristian fortitude that I must stop to narrate it. 
Henry L. Stone, of New York City, having originally enlisted in the 
145th New York, was assigned to our regiment in January, 1.S64. 
W hile engaged in constructing breastworks in front of Pine Knob, 
deorgia, a ragged piece of a bursted shell tore out his bowels. The 
lacerated fragments were gathered together and he was borne by his 
comrades a short distance to the rear to die. Me said, " Major, 
will you call the Colonel?" Major Smith called Colonel Ketcham 
to the dying soldier's side. Stone said, "'Colonel, have I been a 
good soldier ?" The Colonel replied, " Yes, Henry, you have done 
your duty." Stone answered, " I am glad to hear you say that. 
Tell my mother how I did my duty. Form around me, my com- 
rades of Company A.'' They assembled around him, when this 
dying patriot said, " My work is done. Stand by that old flag; I 
give my life for it, aiul I am glad to do it. Boys, stand by that 
flag." And with these words his spirit was hushed in that sweet 
repose from which there is no awakening. 

Another incident that brought deep sorrow to us all was the 
death of Lieut. David B. Slaight, who was killed while leading his 
company in almo.st the last battle of the war. No officer in the reg- 
iment was more highly esteemed, and having so many times escaped 
the rebel bullets it was hard to be stricken down when the final vic- 
tory was so near at hand. 



We must not allow this opportunity to pass without a grateful 
allusion to the patriotic women of Dutchess County, who did so 
much to assist in recruiting the 150th Regiment and properly equip- 
ing It for service in the field. You recollect their kind hospitality, 
their thoughtful charities, the luxuries for camp and hospital, with 
which by them we were so generously supplied. They buckled on 
our swords, presented our colors, and sent us to the front with 
word? of encouragement that inspired us with hope and valor. 

Upon our return to Dutchess County they were the first to wel- 
come us. They spread a banquet for our entertainment and by what 
they said and what they did enabled us to forget the pains, suffer- 
ings and sorrows of the war and see only its glories. No regiment 
in the service had kinder friends at home who were ever mindful of 
its needs. When the time came to erect some suitable memorial 
to those who were killed on the field they again came nobly to our 
assistance, and contributed liberally towards the funds necessary to 
build'the monument we now unveil. 

We dedicate this monument to the memory of soldiers who died 
that a Christian Nation might be perpetuated. Soldiers with ideas 
unswervable concerning the dearest principles of civil and religious 
liberty. Soldiers who longed to see one flag floating over a people 
one in civilization, one in national policy, one in every enter- 
prise for the furthering of universal freedom and the happiness of 
mankind. Like the prophet of old, they "died without the sight." 
But, thanks to them and their heroic comrades, that flag does float 
over a people one in civilization, one in national policy and one in 
every beneficent enterprise, and will so float as long as time endures. 

We dedicate this monument to the memory of the soldiers of the 
Dutchess County regiment wdio were killed at the Battle of Gettys- 
burg; men who, when their country called for soldiers, volunteered 
to fight her battles; brave patriots who willingly gave up their lives 
to prove to the nations of the earth the success of a republican form 
of government; men who died to free an enslaved people. 



^9 

We dedicate this monument to the memory of American soldiers, 
who with their Hfe's blood wrote a law upon the statute book of the 
United States, declaring that " he who bears arms in a war having 
for its object the dissolution of the Union is guilty of treason.'' 
Alas, that the mortal remains of Crddley, Marshall, Welling, Slaight, 
Sweet, Stone, Odcli, Lovelace, Palniatier, Story and others of the 
regiment who were sacrificed upon their country's altar, cannot rest 
beneath this mass of granite, so well calculated to withstand the 
ravages of time, and thus have their burial places and their names 
perpetuated througliout the ages to come. 1'he love of kinsmen 
and the loyalty of affectionate conu-ades and friends have done for 
them, as we have here to-day for those who sleep beneath this mon- 
ument, all that human hands can do to fittingly mark their graves and 
keep their memories green. There is no difference in degree, time 
will place all upon a common level. What are these monuments to 
which we point with pride ? Some day they must crumble into dust. 
>v\) matter how high and strong we build the fortresses of stone 
over and around the martyred dead — we might build their granite 
bases as broad as the pyramiils and make their shafts touch heaven, 
yet would there be higher numuments and stronger fortresses built 
of the hearts of loval Americans. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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